


Jack of Hearts

by Sanctuaria



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Card Games, Daisy Johnson is a little shit, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, NOPE NVM THE BI IS JUST THERE, Piper being a disaster bi, Team as Family, but the bi is implied, but then yeah, now with minor Pipsy!, or at least just a disaster, philindaisy, tHERE'S FINALLY A LOT OF FLUFF GUYS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26971783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanctuaria/pseuds/Sanctuaria
Summary: Phil loses at cards and Daisy gets shot. So, you know, a normal day for Team S.H.I.E.L.D.
Relationships: Agent Piper/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson/Melinda May
Comments: 22
Kudos: 123





	Jack of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [edgeoflights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgeoflights/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE!!! ilysm and I hope you enjoy this <3

She didn’t see him, the man who would fire the bullet. She quaked another one, took one down in a flurry of blows, May fighting right beside her. She didn’t see him until it was too late to do anything about it as he pointed the barrel of his rifle at May’s chest.

Anything except run right into the path of the bullet.

* * *

SIX HOURS EARLIER…

“Mm…eighteen.”

May narrowed her eyes from across the table. “Twenty.”

“Twenty-four.”

“Match.”

“Damn it. Pass.” They both looked to Coulson, who looked between them and the cards in his hand like a deer in headlights.

“Your bid, Phil,” May told him.

“Twenty-five?”

“Not a valid bid.”

“...Twenty-six?”

“Nope. Do you even know what you’re bidding on?” Daisy asked with a quirk of her lips. “You have to be able to make sixty points with the game you choose in order to win, remember.” He stared at her blankly.

“Just pass, Phil.”

Coulson huffed. “Pass.”

May picked up the two cards leftover on the table and examined them with an impassive face before trading them for two of her own. She slid the cards to Daisy, who left them face down in front of her.

“Hearts.”

Daisy swore, causing May to give her a stern glance, despite the faintest trace of a smirk on her face. Yeah, because Daisy didn’t have any hearts except the seven, and she was willing to bet Coulson didn’t either.

May placed the jack of clubs on the table.

“Wait, how come she gets to go first?” Coulson asked.

“She’s left of dealer,” Daisy answered readily.

“But you went first last time.”

“That was for the bidding.”

There was definitely a smirk on May’s face now. “Just play a card, Phil.”

He scanned his cards, then set one down triumphantly. “Jack of hearts.”

“…you still lose to her,” Daisy said.

“What? But hearts is trump!”

May smiled, tapping her card. “And this is a heart.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s a club.”

“Jacks become whatever suit is trump, and clubs is always highest,” Daisy explained.

He sighed, and let her take it along with Daisy’s seven. “I swear this is not a real game.”

“Of course it is; it’s Skat,” Daisy said.

“Like the poop?”

“The German national game!”

May steadily took their aces, tens, and kings— _“What? How does ten beat king?”_ —then simply placed the rest of her cards on the table, all hearts. Daisy sighed, tossing the rest of her cards at her. “Okay, May wins, and I’m pretty sure she got over ninety too.” She calculated the score in her head. “Hearts, with three, over ninety—another fifty points for May.”

“She always wins,” Coulson sighed.

“May wins because she usually holds all the good cards, loses the bid, and sticks it to whoever ends up playing,” Daisy said, shooting her a dirty look and earning a thin smile in return.

“I thought we were all playing.”

“No, the person who’s playing alone, who can actually get points—“

“Guys—” Piper skidded into the room, already holding a massive energy weapon half the size she was. “I mean, _sir_. Watchdogs. Houston. Zephyr can be ready in ten.”

Coulson looked at her, setting down the cards. “Suit up.”

Daisy grinned, slamming hers down on the table. “With pleasure.”

* * *

Hot. Cold. Flashing lights.

_Pain_ , centered on her chest. Voices, yelling, shouting, all around her, an endless cacophony.

Cacophony, Daisy thinks vaguely. That’s a Simmons-level Scrabble word. _Jemma would be proud._

And then the feeling of drifting away…

* * *

EIGHT HOURS EARLIER…

Daisy’s head hit the table with a dull _thunk_. “How does this keep happening?”

“No idea,” Jemma said brightly.

“It was a null game. I was _literally_ playing to lose, and I had _all_ the sevens.”

“Minus thirty-five,” Fitz said, and Jemma nodded, writing it down on the score sheet. “What are we at now?”

“You, two hundred sixty-six, me, two hundred ninety-six, and Daisy…” She gave her a sympathetic look. “Negative one hundred twenty.”

Daisy groaned, then got up from the table, sweeping the cards up with her. “I’m done. I need to find different people to play with.”

“We love you too!” Jemma called after her, the grumble of Fitz’s “ _Sore loser_ ” barely audible as the door to their bunk swung shut behind her.

“Am not,” Daisy groused, heading off down the hallway and knowing she _absolutely_ was. She shuffled the half-deck absently as she turned through the maze of corridors. She found Piper and Deke in the kitchen, Piper beating a towel over a suspiciously-smoking oven and Deke on hand with the fire extinguisher.

“It’s fine!” Piper said all too quickly. She turned. “Oh, it’s you, Daisy.”

“Problem?” Daisy asked, stepping further into the room and trying not to cough on the fumes.

“Just a small…cookies…mishap…”

“They caught fire,” Deke supplied helpfully.

Piper gave him a look, then turned back to Daisy. “You didn’t need to use the oven, did you?”

“No, I was—” Piper’s eyes fell to the object in Daisy’s hands.

“Oh, no, you’re not getting me into your weird card voodoo,” she said, shaking her head.

“Deke?” Daisy tried, sizing him up. “Actually, no, I—don’t think I want to play with you.”

He frowned. “Rude.”

“You’re like FitzSimmons combined, even worse than that hive mind thing they usually do,” Daisy told him. “It’s nothing personal.” She quirked an eyebrow. “This time.”

Deke scoffed. “Thanks.”

She waved the cards at Piper one more time. “You suuuure?”

“You just want to play someone you can beat!” Piper scowled. “Go try Davis, although he might get upset when he loses, the big dumb baby.”

“Sore losers are the worst,” Daisy agreed, and the other woman rolled her eyes, both of them smiling a little too long at the shared joke.

“You know May and Coulson are in the lounge,” Deke suggested, cutting in. “I’m sure they would play with you.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “Are they… _busy_?”

“In the lounge? God I hope not,” Piper said with a disgusted look on her face. “We all sit on that couch. Besides, didn’t you force them to play with you for half of yesterday? Coulson came out all pouty, meaning he lost. A lot.”

“They weren’t doing anything—” Deke made the bumping lemons sign with his hands. “—last I saw them, but that was about an hour ago.” He shrugged. “How long can Coulson usually—”

“Ew!”

“Deke!”

“Too far!”

“ _I was saying_ , how long can Coulson usually stand to lose to you and May,” Deke hissed, slightly red in the face.

“Oh,” Daisy said with a grin, shuffling the cards once again. “For me? He’ll do anything.”

* * *

_“Phil, what if she—”_

_“Daisy, hold still!”_

_“Dammit, Daisy.”_

_“She took that bullet for_ me _.”_

_“She’s waking up…Daisy, can you hear me?”_

“Mmph.” She groaned, eyes still closed, one uncoordinated limb sweeping across her face where someone was trying to touch her. “Nooo, lemme sleep.”

“Daisy,” one of the voices said again, much louder. She twisted, trying to get away, only for hot, fiery pain to erupt in her chest as she did so. Her eyes flew open.

“Ow!”

“There we go,” Coulson said, exchanging a glance with May. Daisy blinked up at them confusedly, then at Piper and Simmons, standing on the other side of the bed, and then lifted her woozy head to stare uncomprehendingly at her chest.

“Lay back,” Simmons commanded, her hands gently pushing her back onto the pillow again. “Give it a minute to wear off.”

“Whatto wear off?” Daisy asked, the words slightly slurred. Why was she so groggy?

“What do you remember?” May asked.

Daisy frowned, thinking back. It was much harder than it should have been. “…Watchdogs.”

“You took a bullet,” Coulson told her, his voice mild but with a clear disapproval laced beneath it.

“Oops.”

“It was mostly stopped by your suit,” Jemma informed her. “Just a three millimeter penetration into the epidermal layer. Skin deep,” she added for Daisy’s benefit. “We sedated you on the Quinjet.”

“You hit your head on the concrete when you went down, and you were pretty out of it,” Piper said. She shifted slightly. “Kept complaining about me trying to undress you when we tried to unzip your suit to see the damage.”

“Oh,” Daisy said, her cheeks coloring.

“You do have a moderate concussion,” Jemma continued after an appropriately awkward pause, “so I know it’ll absolutely kill you to be away from your laptop this long, but I’m afraid I must insist on no screens for at least the next forty-eight hours.”

Daisy immediately pouted, giving Jemma her best puppy-dog eyes look. “Does Mack’s Playstation count?” she asked. “We had a zombies match planned. Der Eisendrache. Void Bow. _Panzer_.”

“Daisy,” May said warningly.

“Fine,” Daisy sighed. She twisted her neck to look at Piper. “Tell Mack and Deke we’ll postpone til Friday.”

“Sure we will,” Piper said, walking toward the door. “Until the next _alien attack_.”

“And if you do wanna actually undress me next time, hit me up after this concussion wears off,” Daisy called after her.

Piper froze. “I w—” Her gaze slid to May and Coulson. “I-I might do that, yeah.” The door banged shut behind her, and Daisy pressed a hand against her forehead, for the first time realizing that it was connected to an IV.

“How strong was that stuff you gave me?” she muttered.

“Apparently a bit too strong,” Jemma said, although she was clearly hiding a smile. “You’ll be fine; it should wear off completely in the next few minutes.” She pulled off her latex gloves. “I’ll be in the lab if you need me.” The door shut behind her as well, leaving her alone with May and Coulson.

Daisy scooched down in the bed. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Talk about what,” May deadpanned, “Piper or your tendency for reckless endangerment?”

“ _Relkess endingermen_ — This seems like an unfair conversation to have while I’m basically high,” Daisy pouted.

“You’re not high,” Coulson said, vaguely amused.

“And we’re perfectly happy to sit here until you feel more like yourself,” May added dangerously, narrowing her eyes at Daisy.

“No—no, I’m good,” Daisy backtracked quickly.

“Good. Now, you want to explain to us why you’re lying in Medical right now?”

“He was trying to shoot at you,” Daisy said in a small voice. Her eyes darted up to meet her former S.O.’s. “He was pointing the rifle _right at you_ , May. And I just…”

“Jumped in front of it?” May suggested.

“…reacted.” Daisy looked away, refusing to meet either of their eyes. “I’m fine, okay?” She glared at the white bedsheets. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Coulson said.

“Daisy,” May said quietly. “You could have died. It was a _bullet_. How do you think I would have felt if you had died because of me?” She shifted, still refusing to look at her, and then felt May’s soft fingers on her jaw, forcing her face to turn. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can,” Daisy said. “I _know_. But I just…” She fell silent, unable to put words to the tumult of emotions within her, to give voice to the utter feeling of _panic_ in her bones at the thought of losing May. Either of them. 

“Your life is not worth mine,” May told her.

Daisy’s eyes flashed up to hers, a momentary anger coloring her features and forcing the words out of her mouth. “Yes, it is. Everything I am is because of the two of you. There is no Daisy, or Agent Johnson, without both of you. You guys taught me so much, and…” She bit her lip, all of a sudden feeling perilously close to tears. Her eyes burned, and she furiously rubbed it away.

“Daisy,” May said in a hushed voice. “ _Daisy_.”

“You don’t owe us for that,” Coulson told her, looking at her with a crushed expression on his face. “That’s no more than you deserved, Daisy, and you earned all of that, and _no_.”

Daisy shook her head. “It’s not _that_ , it’s…” She swallowed, hand gesturing through the air as she tried to explain. “You gave me a home. One that was _permanent_. No one’s ever done that before, and I…I can’t lose it.” Her eyes swept up to meet May’s. “I can’t lose _you_.”

Before she even knew what was happening, May was hugging her, one hand pressed gently to the back of her head and Daisy’s tears seeping into the soft fabric of her black shirt, shakily inhaling the familiar scent of jasmine. “It’s okay, Dais,” she murmured. “I’m right here.”

Daisy held on, her fingers tangled in the cloth, until her breathing had slowed, her hands less shaky. Only then did May pull back, studying Daisy with a careful gaze.

“We are going to talk about this,” May said. “Later. At length.”

“There are things you could have done, Daisy. We’re not saying you shouldn’t try to protect your teammates. Send a quake, push them away…” Coulson told her.

“I know,” she said lamely. “Like I said, I just…reacted.”

“We’ll work on it,” May agreed. She wiped a thumb across Daisy’s cheek, making her sniffle, the corners of her lips tugging upward. “But let me be clear: if you ever try to take a bullet for me again, I will kick your ass so hard on the mat you won’t even be mission-ready.”

Daisy laughed, ducking her face. “Yes, May.” She peeked up at Coulson. “If I can’t use screens for the next forty-eight hours, you know what this means?” She grinned at his bewildered expression. “ _More cards_.”

Coulson groaned, but dutifully went and fetched the deck. “Okay, but you have to tell me how many points a ten is worth again…”

“ _Ten_ , Phil.”

“Yeah, ten, Phil,” Daisy mimicked.

“What?! But king’s are worth _four_ —!” He stared at them, pouting. “I’m being ganged up on.”

May smirked, giving him a quick kiss as a cover for stealing the cards from him and beginning to shuffle them. “Always, Phil.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ellie, would you believe me if I told you I tried *so hard* to make this angsty and failed?
> 
> (I know. Who even _am_ I. I’m a disgrace.)
> 
> Any and all feedback appreciated! (And also, yes, Skat is a real game, and yes, it _is_ this complicated. I have spent many, many hours playing it in coffeeshops. Poor Phil.)


End file.
